"Who needs Cannes?! Beter yet: who WANTS Cannes?!" he concluded, having obviously returned a changed man.

"THIS is everything an advertising awards show should be: last minute, no hassle entries open to anyone & everyone, free beer, rockin' surfer-guitar music (blasted out by the ever-cool Tarantinos), raucous fun on the beach, and on-site, in full-view judging for clients that could never exist for ad campaigns that could never air.

- Corbis has announced the opening of its Museum of arts for the Arts where all things photography, paint and music will be celebrated.

- The Amsterdam office of StrawberryFrog has severed ties with the parent company and will now go it alone, rebranding itself as Amsterdam Worldwide. Odd. Name your agency after a city? Oh wait. Not half as odd as naming your agency after a...strawberry frog.

3/4ths of stock photo buyers surveyed by Photoshelter (399 out of 536 people, mostly art directors and creative directors) feel like they've seen everything stock photo companies have to offer. They also rated availability, quality and diversity of photos "poor to average."

In general, people seek images that are natural-looking, believable or candid. Sore spots include the "ethnic people (general lifestyle)," "seniors being active," and "current technology" categories.

Given the constraints (how do you make the contrived look real?), I admire the wherewithal of companies like Corbis or Getty. They sure do try to think of everything. That photo at left? It's called -- wait for it! -- "Bride Talking on Her Cell Phone."

Here's an idea, ad-heads: take your own damn pictures! Or get to know compfight. Intimately.

Well it's not the Agency.com Subway video, except for the bookends which feature Exaggerated Ad Dude (Charlie Anderson), but it's still filled with enough bravado, though subdued, to cause ugly Agency.com memories to rear their ugly head. In the video, Saatchi & Saatchi X employees describe a campiagn they did for Wal-Mart and Old Spice and why that project makes them worthy of additional and broader Old Spice work.

The ladies will love cute, unassuming Creative Guy. Until, sadly, he starts spouting blatherific business babble likely written for him by some account guy.

- WeMix and VoodooVox enable anyone to "drop a flow" (THEIR WORDS! NOT -- MINE!) from their phones and broadcast them. Ludacris is sponsoring. More cringey self-laud: "VoodooVox is the leading In-Call Media revolution." What does that mean?

- MTLB is upset about PETA, the one-sidedness of 30 Days (esp. the carnivore-meets-vegan episode), and changing people via persecution instead of supplying appealing alternatives to destructive lifestyles.

OK, what? Does Deutsch really not know the difference between a Pontiac Solstice and a Corvette? Even worse, the difference between a Chevy HHR and a Chrysler PT Cruiser? Seemingly not according to these screenshots (1, 2) of the agency's site on which they label the Soltice a Corvette and an HHR a T Cruiser.

Guys, guys, guys! Do we have to bring out that shot of Donny in a Speedo again and slap you upside the head with his junk to wake you up?

Next week, and for the first time, the most reputed names in advertising history are congregating in Manhattan. They include David Ogilvy, Phyllis Robinson, George Lois, Mary Wells Lawrence, and Shirley Polykoff.

And even if you can't face most of them in the flesh, you get the chance to revisit the ads, posters, books, spots and interviews that made them memorable.

The exhibit covers the lives and work of copywriters and art directors that influenced buying habits in the past 80 years. The event is sponsored by the One Club, and we'll be covering the debut early next week.

Hope to see you there. View a full description of Real Men and Women in Mad Ave. in the Adgabber Events calendar.

The original writer of AgencySpy, SuperSpy, has launched Fifth Column, which aims to improve the advertising business by soliciting comments for improvement which will then be sent to the agencies they apply to and, ultimately published for public consumption.

On Advertising Fifth column, formerly anonymous blogger SuperSpy now refers to herself as Sabrina Duncan which, if you do a Google search doesn't help much since all you get are endless listing of Kate Jackson's Charlie's Angel character, Sabrina Duncan.

- a52, which produced the visual effects for that Monster.com spot with the people on the rails, won some love at the Association of Independent Commercial Producer's 17th Annual Show. This is the 11th year its work was recognized by the AICP. To celebrate, it created a YouTube chronology of all the a52 spots that have been honored by the Show. Watch them.

- Obama for America has launched an online news site to fight the smears against his name.

- Make the Logo Bigger created guidelines for the ideal PR. If you don't meet 'em, you're not just getting trashed; you'll be marked as SPAM.

- Not ad-related, but hey: here is a rhinoplasty tutorial. After a few slides, even YOU could do it! Well, maybe she could.